Sunset in a Glass

There’s something about an Aperol Spritz that suggests a person has absolutely nowhere to be. That they’ve made peace with the afternoon and ordered another round just to prove it. First poured in Italy in 1919, the cocktail is a low-proof blend of prosecco, soda water and Aperol—a bitter orange aperitivo with a fiercely guarded recipe and a neon-orange hue that glows with main-character energy. It’s long been a symbol of the good kind of lazy, a refreshing salute to effortless leisure.

Beyond the Vine in Redmond captures that same unhurried spirit. The wine bar and bottle shop, opened by Lydia DeRoss in November 2023, is more about vibe than vocabulary. With a soft spot for European varietals and a distaste for pretension, DeRoss turned her wine curiosity into a business model. “Redmond was hungry for the things I was excited about,” she said. While the wine list runs deep, it’s the seasonal spritzes that turn sipping into lingering. Especially one. “The Venetian holds the heartstrings around here,” shared DeRoss.

A riff on the Aperol Spritz, the Venetian swaps prosecco for drier Cava, and Aperol for Cappelletti—a wine-based Italian bitter that keeps its sweetness tucked just beneath the surface. Topped with fragrant desert herbs snipped on-site and a lush slice of blood orange, the spritz is the color of a sunset in full sprawl—fiery, layered and electric. DeRoss affectionately dubs it “summer water,” although locals are determined to sip the Venetian year-round.

There’s no wrong seat at Beyond the Vine, but the patio has its own thing going on—there’s sun above, shade where it counts and planters full of things that smell good in the breeze. A dog’s asleep under the table. Glasses clink, conversations drift and no one seems to care what time it is. That’s kind of the point. Learn more about Beyond the Vine here.